Debriefing
by anakinlove
Summary: Robin and his team go with their old mentors for a government debriefing about project Cadmas. Robin is, of course, naturally nervous. this is from Cartoon Network's new young justice show, as a point of refrence.


Robin pressed his hip to Batman's without actually noticing that he was. He was nervous and wanted the reassurance having his mentor extra close would bring. It was nonchalant and imperceptible enough that no one but Batman noticed and it served the purpose of convincing Robin that the man he trusted was indeed there beside him as his back up.

Batman wouldn't have been surprised if the boy had crawled into his arms right that very second and snuggled in as if he were nine again. That was just how nervous he was. But Batman wanted him to know that it was ok, that nothing was gona go wrong, that a debriefing by the US Government people was no big deal, but he wanted to do it without embarrassing the boy, without treating him like a child in front of everyone.

He gently pressed back against Robin's hip, causing the boy to look up at him quizzically. Batman's head barely gave a twist, but Robin understood instantly. They both filed over to the corner for a quick chat. Everyone marveled at their communication. Of the rest of the people in the room, no one had noticed any signal at all pass between them and yet they had walked off in unison, almost like an army regiment.

Batman stood over Robin, dwarfing him with his superior height. "Are you nervous?" he asked smoothly. They both knew the answer to that one, but Batman expected an honest answer anyway.

"A little", Robin replied. Batman gave him a piercing glare. "Alright, a lot", Robin replied sourly, "happy?" He wasn't supposed to talk to Batman that way and expected his mentor to at least reprimand him, but was completely unprepared for what happened next. Batman put his hands on the boy's shoulders and spoke gently.

"A debriefing by anyone is no big deal, you understand that, don't you?" Robin mumbled something unintelligible and gazed down at his feet. Batman gently put a hand under his chin and brought his face up so that he was gazing into Batman's eyes. He could barely hold that gaze. Ever since he had been a child, he could barely hold that gaze.

But, Batman's expression softened considerably at the sight of Robin's face. There was worry written all over it. "It'll be ok", he said. Robin was embarrassed. Why was Batman treating him like he couldn't handle something all of the sudden? Like he said, it was no big deal right?

He still couldn't shake his feelings of apprehension though. Alright, he had better at least be honest with himself. It was more then apprehension, it was fear. After admitting to himself that he was scared, it was easier to ask Batman his next question.

"You won't leave me here right, if something goes wrong? If they want to keep me here, you won't just go and leave me behind, will you?" His gaze now turned almost pleading. This time, Batman was the first to break it. Then, his eyes returned.

"No", he said, "don't be silly, I would never leave you here alone. If something does go wrong, I'll be right here to help you figure it out. I'll let you call the shots on this though, you did want to so badly before." Robin shrugged.

"I'd kinda rather you did and I followed that old pioneer rule, children should be seen but not heard."

"Ohh no", Batman said with a slight smile twitching at the side of his face, "You wanted this, now you've got it. You're not a child anymore Robin. I'm only here as backup." Robin lowered his head and looked away. Batman leaned down and gazed into his eyes again. "But", he whispered softly, "I'll always be here as your backup if you need me." Robin gave him a smile and returned to gazing back up into his eyes. Maintaining eye contact was almost a form of communication to them now. When locked on each other's eyes, it didn't matter what the rest of the world was doing, they were in their own little world, master and apprentice.

Then, Robin did something he hadn't done in a few years. When he thought no one was looking he moved foreword into Batman's arms. He was still short enough that his head barely reached up above Batman's rib cage. He buried his face in Batman's belly and heaved an enormous sigh, leaning heavily on him. He could feel Batman's hands on his back. This always melted the dark knight because it didn't happen very often.

Batman had a kind of unspoken rule that affection always remained private and you weren't supposed to do things like this in public, but Robin broke it anyway. He knew in this instance, Batman wouldn't care. He was putting himself into a position of vulnerability with all his friends around, but he relaxed up against his mentor anyway. He knew how much that would be worth to Batman.

He turned his head a little, peaking out from behind Batman's arm and stomach. Everyone was staring at them. They had probably never seen Batman embrace anyone before and this must seem a little weird. Robin knew he would get some heat from his friends for this later, but he didn't care. A few moments of feeling warm, safe and loved were worth some teasing later.

Batman still hadn't noticed anyone was looking. Robin knew this because if he had, he would have pulled away immediately. Robin knew though, that he wouldn't notice. Batman was his least vigilant at times like this, when Robin expressed that he was still young and still very much needed him.

Robin started to pull away, but Batman's arms gently tightened around him. He didn't want to moment to end quite so soon, but Robin was feeling the heat of his friend's stares. "Batman", he whispered softly, "everyone's staring at us." Batman immediately released his charge and looked away.

"You could have told me before now, I estimate they've been staring for one point seven minutes now due to their present range of attention."

"Yea", said Robin, "but I didn't want to spoil anything and I knew you would if you knew." Batman gave him another smile and ran a hand gently through the boy's hair. Then, they walked back to Robin's team.


End file.
